These pages present data mined from the University of Virginia's student information system (SIS). I hope that you will find them useful. — Lou Bloomfield, Department of Physics

Public Health Sciences

PHS 2291

Global Culture and Public Health (3.00)

This course considers the forces that influence the distribution of health and illness in different societies, with attention to increasing global interconnectedness. We will examine the roles of individuals, institutions, communities, corporations and states in improving public health, asking how effective public health and development efforts to improve global health have been and how they might be re-imagined.

The participants in this course held in the West Indies, will study the fundamentals of emergency care and disaster preparedness through exploration of existing preparedness infrastructures in St. Kitts and Nevis.

PHS 3000T

Non-Uva Transfer/Test Credit (3.00)

PHS 3050

Fundamentals of Public Health (3.00)

Public health is multidisciplinary, universally relevant, & constantly evolving. In this survey course, we learn about past & current public health issues & explore the core disciplines of public health through a combination of lectures & small group discussion of documentaries & case studies. We develop an appreciation of how public health knowledge relates to our lives & learn about career opportunities.

Reviews principles of economics most relevant to analyzing changes in health care provision and applies those principles to current health care institutions and their performance, trends in health care service delivery, and methods of forecasting future trends. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

PHS 3095

Health Policy in the United States - An Economic Perspective (3.00)

This course uses an economic perspective to analyze the health policies and institutions that shape the health care system in the US. The consequences of current health care policies on health outcomes are discussed. The processes through which health policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated are analyzed.

Introduction to Public Health Research: Population Data Analysis (3.00)

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge & skills needed to use population data to answer research questions. Students will utilize SPSS to access, evaluate, & interpret public health data. The course will give students an opportunity to generate hypotheses & variables to measure health problems. The course will also describe how the public health infrastructure is used to collect, process, maintain & disseminate data. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

This course is an introduction to epidemiology at the undergraduate level. Using epidemiology as a framework, class participants are challenged to engage more thoughtfully with many of the big issues facing the world today. The course emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and the scientific method, collaboration in teams, and ethical principles and reasoning in this process.

Much of what we know about human health & health-related behavior is based on quant & qual research. This course involves students in the research process from start to finish, including formulating a research question; conducting a background literature review; choosing a study design; developing data collection tools; recruiting a study population; collecting data; assuring data quality; analyzing data; & interpreting & presenting results.

Provides a background for students who may be interested in learning about challenges & opportunities for improvement in health status for citizens in all countries. Although at the operational level, each national system is unique, there are common characteristics that permeate the design & structure of most health care delivery sectors. The major health reform activities occurring in developed & developing countries will be highlighted.

How do sidewalks, block parties, food deserts, and transit systems impact our health? This course maps the intersections between architecture, urban planning, and public health that shape the built environment, health and well being of our local and global communities. Lectures and learning applications will present the evidence and its limits on topics such as food security, age-friendly cities, obesity, social equity and vulnerable population.

Students will explore some of the basic tenets of global public health while experiencing the realities of life and public health during two weeks in the Dominican Republic. The course is comprised of 9 instructional modules. Course material will be enhanced through hands-on learning field trips and community service projects. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

Undoubtedly, we've made important advances in global health, but there's still a long way to go. What factors determine health? What threats do we face today? What issues should we be working to change? We will explore these questions & more through a variety of interactive lectures & small group activities centered on 4 major themes: History & Trends, Determinants of Health, Culture, & Communication.

We will draw on approaches from public health, medical informatics, and human factors engineering to answer these questions. We will explore how to create interventions that are grounded in theoretical perspectives and field-based assessments of patients needs and preferences. Our ultimate goal will be to create interventions that are useful and usable by patients and that ultimately support self-management and improve health outcomes.

Explores the legitimacy, design, & implementation of a variety of policies aiming to promote public health & reduce the social burden of disease & injury. Highlights the challenge posed by public health's pop-based perspective to traditional ind-centered, autonomy-driven approaches to bioethics & const. law. Other themes center on conflicts between PH & pub morality & the relationship between PH and social justice.

Explores topics in global public health and the myriad of governmental and non-governmental entities whose goal is to address and resolve problems encountered in global public health and synthesizes the student's interdisciplinary studies in global public health, culminating in a Capstone Paper.

Designed to introduce undergrads to a graduate level coursework. This course advances methodological and cultural competency in the design and implementation of community health qualitative research investigations. Coursework provides opportunities to practice specific methodologies such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies, and historiographies in accordance with standards of rigor (e.g., reliability, generalizability, validity). Prerequisites: Instructor Permission.

Explores the legitimacy, design, & implementation of a variety of policies aiming to promote public health & reduce the social burden of disease & injury. Highlights the challenge posed by public health's pop-based perspective to traditional ind-centered, autonomy-driven approaches to bioethics & const. law. Other themes center on conflicts between PH & pub morality & the relationship between PH and social justice. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

The Mental Health Law & Policy course explores historical and contemporary mental health law and policy in order to address several current areas of law and policy reform. A public health perspective is applied to issues traditionally viewed through an individual-centered, autonomy-driven lens. Topics are reviewed to introduce students to relevant issues, but are also explored through a public health ethics framework.

Graduate level course designed for undergrads interested in Public Health. Principles & methods of evaluation in public health & health informatics. Covers evaluation paradigms, program planning, evaluation plan design, & use of evaluation findings. Frequent tools in evaluation (surveys, focus groups, & interviews) will be discussed in depth. Design & conduct an evaluation for an existing prog. in public health or application in hlth informatics.

Explores nature and functions of health informatics, the current state of the science, present and future applications, and major issues for research and development. Includes information processing and management, decision support, computer-based patient records and information systems, standards and codes, databases, outcomes research, and the generation and management of knowledge. Also surveys current developments in instructional technology. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Reviews principles of economics most relevant to analyzing changes in health care provision and applies those principles to current health care institutions and their performance, trends in health care service delivery, and methods of forecasting future trends. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course uses an economic perspective to analyze the health policies and institutions that shape the health care system in the US. The consequences of current health care policies on health outcomes are discussed. The processes through which health policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated are analyzed.

Seminar to introduce undergraduates to graduate level work. Examines the evolution of the U.S. health care system from a health policy and health values perspective, with an emphasis on the current health system. Topics include issues surrounding the financing, organization, and delivery of health care, including acess, coverage, cost, and quality of health services. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

Much of what we know about human health & health-related behavior is based on quant & qual research. This course involves students in the research process from start to finish, including formulating a research question; conducting a background literature review; choosing a study design; developing data collection tools; recruiting a study population; collecting data; assuring data quality; analyzing data; & interpreting & presenting results.

The Policy & Practices in Global Health Course will enhance the students' understanding of the social, political, and economic context of common global health challenges and issues. The course will review case studies that review organizations' responses to global health challenges and their successes and failures.

This course is designed to facilitate the development of interdisciplinary student research in a global context. Seminars are designed to support rigorous project development and respectful interactions. The projects addressed in this course are eligible to apply for funding from the Center for Global Health, the Community Based Undergraduate Research Grant, Jefferson Public Citizens Award and other sources.

Examines the U.S. health care system from health policy, health systems, and health administration perspectives, with an emphasis on current challenges facing the financing, administration, and delivery of health services. Using a case-based method, the course will employ lecture, discussion, and student-led group projects that encourage analysis of real-world scenarios in today's complex health and medical environments. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5200 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: instructor permission.

This course is designed to introduce undergrads to a graduate level course. It will expose students to community-based factors that influence the health of populations and individuals. The principal objective of the class is to provide the rationale for meaningful engagement of diverse communities and introduce effective strategies that will enhance research and policy protocols designed to improve health status. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

This course will introduce ugrads to a grad level course. Concentrate on designing & completing comm hlth assessments & associated strategic planning to improve priority areas identified in these assessments. Emphasis will be on field work with local health departments. Students should be able to work independently as well as work well within multi-disciplinary groups. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

Introduce undergraduate to graduate level work. This course builds on community health assessment strategies used in PHS 5212 to do fieldwork with local health departments. This course is open to student who were in PHS 5212 as wll as those who were not. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on the ethical dimensions of the choices societies and individuals make when addressing threats to and responsibilities for the public's health. A range of philosophical theories and contemporary positions are examined to explore the complex concepts of "public" and "health." Investigated are the impact of various understandings of the public, not only as a numerical population that can be defined and measured, but also as a political group that operates under legally defined obligations and relationships, and as a "communal" public with diverse cultural and moral beliefs. The various methods and content of public health ethics, including utilitarian perspectives and the role of the Code of Ethics for public health professionals are also examined. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Students will explore concepts and principles of equity in health through the lens of addressing disparities in health and its determinants. Students will learn the extent and persistence of disparities in health across a range of medical conditions, and will discuss social determinants of health (and health disparities) in five key areas: econ. stability, educ., neighborhood & built environment, social and community context, health & health care.

Interdisciplinary approach to understanding, assessing, and controlling environmental factors that impact public health. Practical examples are used to help public health professionals understand how epidemiology, health surveillance, and exposure surveillance can be used to determine the potential for health problems that result from various environmental factors, and how monitoring and control techniques can reduce the impact of the environment on human health. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Seminar to introduce ugraduates to graduate level work. This course offers an intro to environmental health with a focus on environmental epidemiology. Through case studies on air, soil and water pollutants, students will examine concepts of study design, exposure assessment and issues of validity. Hands-on introduction to GIS.

This course will provide an overview of the intersection between health informatics and healthcare quality and safety. We will review advancements and opportunities in both the measurement of quality and safety as well as the development and implementation of informatics-based interventions. Much of the course will focus on topics like electronic health records, clinical decision support, and tools to support population health. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

Undergraduate level course primarily for 5 year BA/BS/MPH students, and others with Instructor consent. The course will introduce Public Health students to tools needed to utilize SPSS for quantitative data analysis. Instruction will include lectures, case study discussions and individual projects. Attendance, participation, a midterm exam and final presentation are required. Pre-requisites: Instructor Permission

How do sidewalks, block parties, food deserts, and transit systems impact our health? This course maps the intersections between architecture, urban planning, and public health that shape the built environment, health and well being of our local and global communities. Lectures and learning applications will present the evidence and its limits on topics such as food security, age-friendly cities, obesity, social equity and vulnerable population.

Students learn the procedures, methods, and tools associated with Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and systematically judge the potential and unintended effects of a policy, plan, program, or project concerning the built environment of a community. Students will propose, develop & execute a rapid form of HIA. Assignments will reflect typical HIA tasks culminating in a final report as a deliverable to community stakeholders. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

This course will introduce undergrads to a graduate level course. It will examine the relationship between Appalachian culture, economic development, education and health in far Southwest Virginia and explore the process for the design and implementation for collaborative, community-based research. It will expose the student to the methodologies of community organizing, partnership development and community based research. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission.

Develops writing and speaking skills while increasing student understanding of how managers communicate with diverse audiences. Covers communication with the public, investors, and employees. Special topics include media relations, communication ethics, and crisis communications. Practice for communication events such as speaking at a press conference, briefing a small group, telling professional anecdotes, and preparing for a media interview.

Provides an overview of key background, issues & topical considerations in regulatory science & translational activities. It is aimed at graduate & post-graduate clinicians, researchers & public health students who have a desire to raise their understanding about the regulatory framework for the development of new products, as well as emerging trends in research & development of products to improve human health. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

The course will cover human genetics and genomics, including the human/mammalian genome variation, determination of genomic variation on phenotype and disease risk, mapping and characterizing genetic variants on phenotype, determining the putative impact of genetic variants on gene expression (transcriptomics, epigenomics), the promise and implications of genome science on precision medicine and the ethical, legal & social implications. Prerequisites: BIOL 3010 or BIOL 4210 or instructor consent.

The participants in this course held in the West Indies, will study the fundamentals of emergency care and disaster preparedness through exploration of existing preparedness infrastructures in St. Kitts and Nevis.

PHS 5815

Social Determinants of Child Health (3.00)

Participants will learn and apply the tenets of social determinants of child health as they explore and analyze child asthma challenges in St. Kitts and Nevis. Culturally respectful engagement will be emphasized in the assessment of existing resources and the development of community-based health education materials sensitive to the priorities of the indigenous people of St. Kitts and Nevis.

PHS 5818

UVA in the Dominican Republic: Dominican Public Health (3.00)

Students will explore some of the basic tenets of global public health while experiencing the realities of life and public health during two weeks in the Dominican Republic. The course is comprised of 9 instructional modules. Course material will be enhanced through hands-on learning field trips and community service projects.

PHS 5820

Ethical & Methodological Issues in Public Health Research (3.00)

Course reviews both quant & qual methods but its emphasis will be on qual methods. How do these different research traditions relate to each other? The course will be closely integrated with the Public Health Practicum/Field Placement. This methods course will help to initiate & guide the work done in the field research projects . Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

Students will participate each day in an ongoing, real-world research project. Projects will be highly multi-disciplinary & may include questions, theory & methods from anthropology, epidemiology, health systems, political science, sociology, gender studies, education psychology & dev. studies. If approved by MPH Director, course may be used in lieu of PHS 8900 for MPH Degree seeking students. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

PHS 5825

Global Public Health: Challenges and Innovations (3.00)

This course is the graduate level offering of PHS 3825. Through interactive lectures & small group activities, we learn about important advances in global health, factors that determine health, current threats, & effective ways to implement change. In addition, as a graduate student, you will have numerous opportunities to demonstrate attainment of MPH foundational knowledge & competencies.

The course will introduce Public Health students to tools needed to utilize SPSS for quantitative data analysis. Instruction will include lectures, case study discussions and individual projects. Attendance, participation, a midterm exam and final presentation are required. Pre-requisites: Instructor Permission

An elective interdisciplinary Public Health and Planning Health course that explores the connections between the built environment and community health. The course teaches students about four main areas at the intersection of the built environment and comm. health: planning and public health foundations, natural and built environment, vulnerable populations and health disparities, health policy & global impacts. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission.

This course will examine the relationship between Appalachian culture, economic development, education and health in far Southwest Virginia and explore the process for the design and implementation for collaborative, community-based research. It will expose the student to the methodologies of community organizing, partnership development and community based research. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission.

An illustration of the indications, limitations, assumptions, and appropriate applications of analytical methods in a variety of biomedical settings. Students will learn how to determine which analytic technique would be best suited for a variety of translational and clinical research, evaluation, and policy study designs. Prerequisite: Instructor permission;: PHS 7000.

Introduces the field of Epidemiology and the methods of epidemiologic research. Students learn how to interpret, critique, and conduct epidemiologic research, including formulating a research question, choosing a study design, collecting and analyzing data, controlling bias and confounding, and interpreting study results. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5010 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in the PHS program or instructor permission.

This course enriches and extends the fundamental principles of epidemiology introduced in PHS 7010. Students learn the assumptions necessary for causal inference and how to comprehensively consider multiple sources of bias using causal diagrams. These topics are covered in the context of randomized clinical trails, cohort studies, and case control studies with training in the analysis of data with binary, continuous, and time-to-event outcomes. Prerequisite PHS 7010

This course advances methodological and cultural competency in the design and implementation of community health qualitative research investigations. Coursework provides opportunities to practice specific methodologies such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies, and historiographies in accordance with standards of rigor (e.g., reliability, generalizability, validity).

We will draw on approaches from public health, medical informatics, and human factors engineering to answer these questions. We will explore how to create interventions that are grounded in theoretical perspectives and field-based assessments of patients needs and preferences. Our ultimate goal will be to create interventions that are useful and usable by patients and that ultimately support self-management and improve health outcomes.

Course is based on the premise that contemporary healthcare space provides enormous opportunities and challenges and at the end of the course, students should have a greater understanding of this dynamic industry. Evolving care processes and practices are driving organizational transformations and cultural changes leading to major investments in health-related consulting and support services.

This course considers the Food & Drug Administration as a case study of an administrative agency that must combine law and science to regulate activities affecting public health and safety. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission.

Required fall course for Community & Public Health track. Explores the legitimacy, design, and implementation of a variety of policies aiming to promote public health and reduce the social burden of disease and injury. Highlights the challenge posed by public health's population-based perspective to traditional individual-centered, autonomy-driven approaches to bioethics and constitutional law. Other themes center on conflicts between public health and public morality and the relationship between public health and social justice. Illustrative topics include mandatory immunization, screening and reporting of infectious diseases, prevention of lead poisoning, food safety, prevention of firearm injuries, airbags and seat belts, mandatory drug testing, syringe exchange programs, tobacco regulation, and restrictions on alcohol and tobacco advertising. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5050 with instructor permission. Prerequisites: Instructor permission.

Should a hospital apologize for a doctor's mistake? What should a fertility clinic do with abandoned embryos? Can a pharmaceutical company be justified in quadrupling the price of a drug? In this course you will learn the values, norms, & methods that guide responsible decision-making in the business of heathcare & put that knowledge to use analyzing, critiquing, & debating various practical solutions to some current challenges.

This course is designed to provide a survey of the spectrum of topics generally considered part of "health law". It will introduce the various institutions and players involved in health care delivery and the legal relationships between those institutions at both the sate and federal level..

PHS 7060

Program Planning and Evaluation (3.00)

Provides an overview of the principles and methods of evaluation in public health and health informatics. Covers evaluation paradigms, program planning, evaluation plan design, and use of evaluation findings. Frequent tools in evaluation (surveys, focus groups, and interviews) will be discussed in depth. Students will have the opportunity to design and conduct an evaluation for an existing program in public health or application in health informatics. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5060 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Explores nature and functions of health informatics, the current state of the science, present and future applications, and major issues for research and development. Includes information processing and management, decision support, computer-based patient records and information systems, standards and codes, databases, outcomes research, and the generation and management of knowledge. Also surveys current developments in instructional technology. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5070 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in the PHS program or instructor permission.

Addresses the questions of what makes a good health system, how we know whether a health system is performing well, and what makes a health system fair through a comparison of the financing, delivery, and operation of health systems throughout the world. Focuses on differences both in health system performance (as measured by death, disability, morbidity, access, and patient satisfaction) and in health system inputs. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5080 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Reviews principles of economics most relevant to analyzing changes in health care provision and applies those principles to current health care institutions and their performance, trends in health care service delivery, and methods of forecasting future trends. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in the PHS program or instructor permission.

An introduction to the terminology, structure, & function of the U.S. health care system with an emphasis on the social, economic, & political forces that impact the organization, financing, & delivery of health & health care.

This course is an exposure to the concepts, methods and problem areas addressed by health services research as a field of inquiry. The focus of the course will be on the development and critique of a healthcare policy paper. This course will involve discussion of the concepts, methods and problem areas addressed by health services research and develop a toolkit for healthcare policy analysis.

Covers the theory and practice of survey research. Topics include surveys as a scientific method; sampling theory; the construction, testing, and improvement of survey instruments; interviewer training; the organization of field work; coding and data quality control; data analysis; and the preparation of survey reports. Cross-listed as SOC 5110. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in the PHS program or instructor permission.

Introduces students to the techniques needed for the evaluation of health outcomes from the perspectives of the patient, the physician, the health care provider, and society. Presents measurement and evaluation of survival, functional status, quality of life, and health values. Evaluates the efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of devices, interventions, and processes of care. Prerequisite: PHS 7000 and 7001 or instructor permission.

This course addresses cross-cutting public health competencies in Communication, Professionalism, and Diversity and Culture, and includes sessions with public health officials in practice. The course also will focus on effective written and oral communication.

Focuses on how to conduct public health research. Research in Practice students concentrate on quant & qual research methodologies for the collection, analysis & interpretation of data. Health Policy, Law & Ethics students concentrate on the analysis of health information & data relevant to policy issues and the evaluation of policy options. Students develop their culminating experience research protocols.
Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

These seminars are sponsored by the Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life (IPE), and are unique in that they include students from different professional and graduate schools and programs and are led by at least two faculty members from different professional schools or programs. These seminars use literature, plays, films, etc., as vehicles for exploring ethical concerns that arise in personal, professional, and public life.

The Policy & Practices in Global Health Course will enhance the students' understanding of the social, political, and economic context of common global health challenges and issues. The course will review case studies that review organizations' responses to global health challenges and their successes and failures.

A curriculum of practice approach will imbue within students the skills & methods of global health practitioners. Global health will take on the broadest definition to include not only medical practice by health professionals, but also the complex socio-technical system that affects public health worldwide. We will use the Water & Health in Limpopo (WHIL) Project as a study for a broader understanding of how this system works in the real world

Examines the U.S. health care system from health policy, health systems, and health administration perspectives, with an emphasis on current challenges facing the financing, administration, and delivery of health services. Using a case-based method, the course will employ lecture, discussion, and student-led group projects that encourage analysis of real-world scenarios in today's complex health and medical environments. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5200 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: PHS 7090 and PHS 7100, or acceptable substitute in health policy, economics, or financing; or instructor permission.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the major players in the health care industry & the financial issues these players raise for HealthCare managers. Understand the function of financial management in HealthCare Organizations. Asses a HealthCare organization's financial condition & forecast its financial future. Understand "third party payer system", incentives created by different payment methods & their effect on provider risk.

This course is designed to expose students to community-based factors that influence the health of populations and individuals. The principal objective of the class is to provide the rationale for meaningful engagement of diverse communities and introduce effective strategies that will enhance research and policy protocols designed to improve health status.

Concentrate on designing & completing comm hlth assessments & associated strategic planning to improve priority areas identified in these assessments. Emphasis will be on field work with local health departments. Students should be able to work independently as well as work well within multi-disciplinary groups. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

This course builds on community health assessment strategies used in PHS 5212 to do fieldwork with local health departments. This course is open to student who were in PHS 5212 as wll as those who were not.

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on the ethical dimensions of the choices societies and individuals make when addressing threats to and responsibilities for the public's health. A range of philosophical theories and contemporary positions are examined to explore the complex concepts of "public" and "health." Investigated are the impact of various understandings of the public, not only as a numerical population that can be defined and measured, but also as a political group that operates under legally defined obligations and relationships, and as a "communal" public with diverse cultural and moral beliefs. The various methods and content of public health ethics, including utilitarian perspectives and the role of the Code of Ethics for public health professionals are also examined. May be open to undergraduates as PHS 5250 with instructor permission. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course will examine the current health care and public health systems, with particular focus on the impact of evidence-based medicine and public health, qualify, and financing. Topics include the influence of medical and nonmedical determinants of health, and the impact of the changing practice of medicine on physicians and patients.

This seminar will explore the core issues and theoretical frameworks for the development of health policy and public health interventions to address health disparities. Students will examine the current epidemiological and social science evidence on both health status disparities and healthcare disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations, including data on mortality, longevity and life expectancy, quantitative and demographic analysis and access, and utilization of health services. The course also will explore the complex and poorly understood reasons for health disparities, which may largely reflect socioeconomic differences, differences in health-related risk factors, environmental factors, direct and indirect consequences of discrimination, and differences in access to health care. Finally, students will consider multifaceted ways to address disparities that focus on health care providers; health care delivery issues, such as access; and health system policies and regulations, such as insurance and quality improvement measures. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course will train participants to utilize Lean methodologies and tools that can help improve throughput and other performance measures in a healthcare setting. Lean is a leading process improvement methodology used to achieve significant improvements in quality, service, productivity, and customer satisfaction. It uses a variety of statistical tools and other skills, integrated with a standardized methodology, to measure, and analyze.

This course will provide an introduction to quantitative methods and their application to quality and research. Specific topics include statistical process control, queueing theory, simulation, and forecasting as applied to problems faced by health systems, including poor flow in outpatient clinics and insufficient staff for demand in the emergency department. An end-of-course project will incorporate methods learned throughout the semester.

Interdisciplinary approach to understanding, assessing, and controlling environmental factors that impact public health. Practical examples are used to help public health professionals understand how epidemiology, health surveillance, and exposure surveillance can be used to determine the potential for health problems that result from various environmental factors, and how monitoring and control techniques can reduce the impact of the environment on human health. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course offers an intro to environmental health with a focus on environmental epidemiology. Through case studies on air, soil and water pollutants, students will examine concepts of study design, exposure assessment and issues of validity. Provides hands-on introduction to GIS. At course completion, students will be prepared to critically review published literature and assist in the design and conduct of environmental health research.

In this course students will utilize SAS to access, evaluate, and interpret public health data from large databases and draw basic inferences. Students will develop skills to formulate and answer research questions related to clinical research and health policy. The course will also explore how the publci health infrastructure collects, processes, maintains, and disseminates data.

Focuses on health policy analysis using secondary data. The course applies skills learned in biostatistics & epidemiology courses in order to conduct secondary data analyses. In particular, students will explore how public health infrastructure collects, processes, maintains, & disseminates data by learning about & accessing large datasets such as BRFSS and NHANES.

Provides intro to Bayesian methods with emphasis on medeling and applications. The topics to be covered include methods for forming prior distributions such as conjugate and noninformative priors, derivation of posterior and predictive distributions and their moments, and development of Bayesian models including linear regression, generalized linear models and hierarchical models.

Provides students with a comprehensive overview and in-depth review of the theories, major components and techniques for the management of health care organizations. Topics covered include organizational management, financial analyses, budgeting for operations and grants, principles and techniques for managing and leading effective teams, systems thinking concepts and methods and theories and methods for managing a quality organization.

Public Health is a multi-disciplinary field that attempts to help individuals and communities prevent illness and maintain and improve health. These health promotion activities are accomplished through the development of programs and policies and associated study of these activities. Although we recognize that there are many factors that impact individuals and population health outcomes, this course will explore the social and behavioral aspects of health as well as the relationship between health behavior and community, society and the environment. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course will focus on ways to understand, analyze, and improve population health and to create a culture for healthy living and wellness. The course will explore innovative approaches, strategies, and practices across systems and throughout the lifespan to reduce health risk and provide access to appropriate preventive care. Students will do field work in the community with particular populations.

Provides discussion of forces & events that have shaped the modern FDA & oversight of therapeutics (Drugs, Biologics & Devices), as well as how the FDA shaped clinical science. How science informs FDA & vice-versa to help better understand why FDA regulates the way it does. Case studies to discuss seminal events in FDA's evolution as well as its modern challenges as science & approaches to disease become increasingly complex.

Participants will learn and apply the tenets of social determinants of child health as they explore and analyze child asthma challenges in St. Kitts and Nevis. Culturally respectful engagement will be emphasized in the assessment of existing resources and the development of community-based health education materials sensitive to the priorities of the indigenous people of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Highly interactive, participatory weekly seminar & workshop provides structured guidance & support over the semester for fellows or faculty who are committed to preparing a new application for an NIH research grant that is clinically oriented (i.e., not basic science). Students develop Specific Aims Section and Research Approach Section for an original research proposal in accordance with guidelines of the NIH.
Prerequisite: Instructor Permission; Graduate Study Design or Epidemiology course; Graduate Statistics or Biostatists course; Research Problem and Study Purpose identified; Know literature well in research area

This course is designed to provide an overview of grant writing with practical "How To" exercises to prepare the student to become successful in applying for funds to sponsor research and/or public health projects. As part of the course, the student will also become skillful in preparing oral and abstract presentations related to obtaining grants as well as disseminating results of research funded by grants.

Interactive workshop-type introduction to the process of developing & presenting an evaluation plan for evaluating public health programs. This may include a research idea for funding by an agency like the NIH or a healthcare focused quality assessment/control program assessment for within the public health department or healthcare organization.

Provides an introduction to bioinformatics and discusses important topics in computational biology in medicine, particularly based on modern statistical computing approaches. Reviews state-of-the-art high-throughput biotechnologies, their applications in medicine, and analysis techniques. Requires active student participation in various discussions on the current topics in biotechnology and bioinformatics. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

This course introduces naturalistic and interpretive qualitative approaches to the systematic study of health-related phenomena. Epistomological principles that underlie interpretive and naturalistic research will be practically applied to research designs and IRB protocol development. Coursework provides opportunities to practice specific methodologies in accordance with standards of rigor (e.g., reliability, generalizability, validity).
Prerequisite: Good standing as graduate student in the relevant program, Instructor Permission

This course teaches students how to interpret qualitative data by applying systematic coding processes. Analyzing qualitative data involves reading through the interview or focus group transcripts and other data, developing codes, applying and revising those codes through an iterative review of data, and drawing connections between discrete pieces of data to determine research participant meaning. Prerequisite: PHS 8120, GNUR 8120, PHS 7015

Social Determinants of Child Health in St. Kitts (Field Placement) (3.00)

Participants will learn and apply the tenets of social determinants of child health as they explore and analyze child asthma challenges in St. Kitts and Nevis. Culturally respectful engagement will be emphasized in the assessment of existing resources and the development of community-based health education materials sensitive to the priorities of the indigenous people of St. Kitts and Nevis.

PHS 8821

Practicum in Public Health Field Research/ South Africa (Field Placement) (3.00)

Students will participate each day in an ongoing, real-world research project. Projects will be highly multi-disciplinary & may include questions, theory & methods from anthropology, epidemiology, health systems, political science, sociology, gender studies, education psychology & dev. studies. If approved by MPH Director, course may be used in lieu of PHS 8900 for MPH Degree seeking students.

The Applied Practice is a planned, supervised & evaluated work experience with an organization that contributes to the health of a community. Students apply skills learned in the program to a real-world setting & work toward achieving competencies. Placements are selected based on the interests & needs of the student. A min of 100 hours is required; placements may occur during an academic year, one semester or over summer.

The Applied Practice is a planned, supervised & evaluated work experience with an organization that contributes to the health of a community. Students apply skills learned in the program to a real-world setting & work toward achieving competencies. Placements are selected based on the interests & needs of the student. A min of 50 hours is required; placements may occur during an academic year, one semester or over summer.

The Applied Practice is a planned, supervised & evaluated work experience with an organization that contributes to the health of a community. Students apply skills learned in the program to a real-world setting & work toward achieving competencies. Placements are selected based on the interests & needs of the student. A min of 50 hours is required; placements may occur during an academic year, one semester or over summer.

The culminating experience project should demonstrate application of knowledge acquired in the MPH program to a real-world public health issue. Students write a paper & create a poster for presentation describing their projects. Students also take a review test of basic material from the core public health disciplines & complete a competency self-assessment to obtain feedback on their progress & accomplishments achieved by the end of the program. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission.

The final project should demonstrate application of knowledge acquired in the MPH program to a real-world public health issue. Students write a paper & create a poster for presentation describing their projects. Students also take a review test of basic material from the core public health disciplines & complete a competency self-assesment to obtain feedback on their progress & accomplishments achieved by the end of the program.

The Topics in Public Health Ethics are designed for fourth-year undergraduate students who have declared a minor, or an interdisciplinary major, in bioethics. These topics will focus on ethical issues in Healthcare Policy and Administration.

Provides students with experience in discerning & analyzing ethical issues pertaining to institutional policies & operations as they arise in healthcare settings. Each student spends several hours a week in an administrative sector of the UVA Health System (same setting throughout the semester) under the mentorship of an administrator engaged in that setting. Focuses on the students' observations and analyses of ethical issues that arise.

The Topics in Public Health Ethics are designed for graduate students in any discipline. These topics will focus on ethical issues in Healthcare Policy and Administration. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission

This two-credit course, specifically designed to be interdisciplinary, is open to grad students in bioethics, nursing, public health sciences, law students, & medical school junior faculty & fellows. Grades will be based on papers, participation, & projects. Topics to be covered include: federal regulations governing research, ethical norms of HSR, responsible conduct of research, international & public health research & history of research ethic

The course will examine ethical & legal issues related to reproduction. While some historical coverage will take place, primary emphasis will be on current topics, such as abortion regulation, coerced medical interventions, conscientious provider accommodations, state ultrasound legislation, prenatal genetic testing, the pregnant woman in research, & regulation of the fertility industry.

This course will begin with an exploration of common modes of ethical deliberation about clinical moral questions, then focus more intensely on a variety of moral issues that regularly arise within clinical medicine in such areas as reproduction, the care of children, disability, end of life, organ transplantation, and others. Format for sessions will include brief didactic presentations, but will center on class discussion and ethical analyses.

We will begin with a brief look at the origins of the current system for regulating human subjects research and the ethical and legal frameworks that have evolved to assist with that regulation. We will explore central issues like risk-benefit assessment, informed consent, confidentiality, diversity in subject populations and how subjects are recruited and retained. We will look at issues like stem cell research and genetic engineering, etc. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission. Open to medical residents, medical school junior faculty, law students, and graduate students in bioethics, nursing, and public health sciences.